Finally Fortunate: Huskies Move On

The Story: Paige Bueckers had 28 points, 10 rebounds and six assists to be named the region’s Most Outstanding Player and Aaliyah Edwards had 24 points and six rebounds as No. 3 seed UConn knocked off No. 1 seed USC 80-73 in Portland, Oregon, last night to return to the Final Four.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: UConn (33-5) is back in the Final Four for the 23rd time — a year after missing out completely — after a gusty performance against USC that required the Huskies to turn on the jets in the final minutes to close it out.

• The Trojans erased a 12-point third-quarter lead with 7:32 remaining and were down just one with 4:38 to play before the Huskies went back up by a dozen with 1:28 left. Still, UConn missed seven consecutive free throws to give USC life, but the Trojans couldn’t finish the comeback.

• Bueckers, Edwards and Nika Muhl, who had eight points, eight assists and five rebounds, played all 40 minutes — and Muhl pulled that off despite picking up a third foul early in the third quarter and a fourth before it ended. KK Arnold also had four fouls late in the third quarter, and Ashlynn Shade sat after picking up her second foul with 3:53 to play in the first half. To say the Huskies deftly navigated foul trouble last night is an understatement.

BUECKERS VS. WATKINS: Give the advantage to Bueckers in her matchup with USC’s freshman phenom, JuJu Watkins, who had 29 points and 10 rebounds.

• Bueckers shot 11-for-23, including 3-for-6 from beyond the arc (yes, the real one), to surpass 20 points for the seventh consecutive game. Watkins went 9-for-25, 2-for-6 from 3-point range, and a perfect 9-for-9 from the free throw line, but she had to contend with Bueckers’ defense for most of the game.

• Muhl originally drew the assignment of controlling Watkins, who entered averaging 27 points and shooting 40.2 percent, but when Arnold sat with three fouls late in the first half, Bueckers took over. Watkins, meanwhile, spent considerable time defending Arnold.

• Credit to Muhl, who didn’t allow Watkins to take a single field goal attempt for a nearly nine-minute stretch during the first half. Watkins finished the first half with just 12 points.

FUN RUN: UConn built a 9-0 run in the first quarter on the heels of its transition game, but it was clearly an unsustainable strategy. Case in point: When USC mounted its comeback late, it did so by exhausting the Huskies with a full-court press and by pushing them down the court after a rebound.

BENCH COMES UP BIG: The foul trouble forced Geno Auriemma to go “deep” into his bench, with Qadence Samuels entering for the first time since the first-round win over Jackson State when Shade went out with two fouls and Ice Brady stepping in when Arnold picked up her third foul late in the first half.

• Samuels played 13 minutes and knocked down a 3-pointer to cap an 8-0 run with 6:17 left in the second quarter, and Brady had eight points in 19 minutes.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE: USC shot just 32.9 percent, including 31 percent (9-for-29) from beyond the arc, but went 18-for-20 from the free throw line. Compare that to UConn, which shot 48.3 percent, 46.7 percent (7-for-15) from 3-point range, and 17-for-27 (63 percent) from the foul line.

• UConn had the slight 42-41 edge in rebounding, and each team scored seven second-chance points, but UConn had the 28-20 advantage in points in the paint. It also scored 17 points off USC’s 10 turnovers, while USC scored 14 points off UConn’s 12 turnovers.

• McKenzie Forbes scored 24 points for the Trojans, and Rayah Marshall had 11 points and 11 rebounds.

WHAT DID GENO SAY? “It was one of the better games that I’ve been associated with at this level, two terrific teams and great competitors playing their hearts out for a dream that each kid has when they go to college. As I told the players, it doesn’t matter whether this is the first time you’ve ever been to [the Final Four] … or for these three [seniors], where they’ve experienced this before. There’s something about when you reach [the Elite Eight], and you win this particular game, it may even be more emotional than winning the national championship game sometimes, because you know how hard it was to get here. Their sense of belief in themselves never wavered, no matter what happened, who we lost, one after another after another. They never gave up on their dream, and now, here we are.”

UP NEXT: The dream matchup will finally happen as Bueckers leads the Huskies into the Final Four against Caitlin Clark and Iowa on Friday at approximately 9:30 p.m. Clark scored 41 points as the Hawkeyes beat LSU 94-87 in a rematch of last year’s national championship game.

• The teams played last year — a UConn win when Bueckers was out injured — and in the Sweet 16 three years ago, when the two were freshmen (another UConn win).

• UConn’s not the only school with both basketball teams in the Final Four. N.C. State made it on both sides, too, and two UConn vs. N.C. State title games aren’t technically out of the equation.

• We don’t need to remind you, but in 2004, both teams won the national championship. In 2014, both teams won the national championship. And in 2024? We’ll find out next weekend.

— Zac Boyer

Morning Reads

• The football team has hired Brad Robbins, who was Tennessee Tech’s wide receivers coach last season, as its new quarterbacks coach.

• Tyler Minick hit a grand slam in the eighth inning as the baseball team cruised to a 14-6 win over CCSU yesterday. Up next for the Huskies is a game against Columbia this afternoon.

• Peyton Kinney gave up three hits with six strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings as the softball team beat Providence 4-2 at home to win the three-game series. The Huskies will face Boston College on the road this afternoon.

Top photo: UConn’s Paige Bueckers dribbles the ball against Louisville. (Courtesy of UConn athletics)